Family and friends are comforting Danica Weeks hours after she heard the news that the Malaysia Airlines flight carrying her husband Paul has been confirmed lost in the Indian Ocean.

Danica Weeks is with the couple’s two young sons in the family home in Perth’s northern suburbs, about 15 minutes drive from RAAF Base Pearce where planes looking for any signs of Flight MH370 have been taking off and landing over the past week.

Her mother, Kay Thompson, said her daughter was too distraught to talk about the official announcement that the plane had crashed.

‘‘You can imagine how we feel,’’ Thompson told AAP over the phone from the home.

‘‘We have been waiting for two weeks and I guess everyone hoped for something better than this.

‘‘But that is the way it is and we are all dreadfully sad.’’

Thompson had travelled from her Sunshine Coast home and she said her daughter’s friends from New Zealand and Mandurah, south of Perth, were also helping her and helping look after the boys, Lincoln, 3, and 11-month-old Jack.

‘‘We’re a small family unit. They’ve only been living here for about two-and-a-half years,’’ Thompson said.

‘‘I’m sorry that’s all I can say for now.’’

The Weeks had moved to Perth from Christchurch after the earthquakes of 2011.

Paul Weeks, a mechanical engineer, had boarded the Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 on his way to start a new job in Mongolia.

He was one of two New Zealanders on the flight. The family of Ximin Wang, 50, of Auckland, have asked for privacy.